Sindh Government has been on the toes of ride-hailing companies ever since they entered Pakistan. Back in October, they gave Uber and Careem a week to get route permits for drivers or face the termination of services, which luckily for us didn’t happen. Now the provincial government intends to regulate both companies since there is no provision of “online public passenger service” in Vehicle Ordinance 1965 or Motor Vehicle Rules 1969.
If this legislation is passed by the Chief Minister and parliament, Uber and Careem will be required to obtain fitness certificates for vehicles which their drivers are using. Furthermore, the companies will be required to obtain route permits as well. In this regard, Uber had signed an MoU in 2016 regarding its provision of services in the province.
Given below is the summary for amendment in Vehicle Ordinance:
As per the above summary, both Uber and Careem have submitted documents for route permits for more than 500 vehicles each. While speaking to Express Tribune, a Careem spokesperson said that they were willing to obtain fitness certificates and route permits for their vehicles but the regulatory process must take on-board ride-hailing companies.
One questions what type of regulations will the government have in mind for both companies. Alongside Uber and Careem, there are several other companies who are providing the same services but on a smaller scale like Bykea, Rocket Rickshaw, and others, they will also be facing the same regulations. Do you think they will agree to the government’s demands?
